same size, were used in weighing
commodities, and were subsequently split, for convenience's sake, into
sixteen equal parts, each about one-third heavier than the English
ounce. For measures of capacity, we must revert to the millet-grain, a
fixed number of which set the standard for Chinese pints and quarts.
The result of this rule-of-thumb calculation has been that weights and
measures vary all over the empire, although there actually exist an
official foot, pound and pint, as recognized by the Chinese government.
In one and the same city a tailor's foot will differ from a carpenter's
foot, an oilman's pint from a spirit-merchant's pint, and so on. The
final appeal is to local custom.

With the definitive establishment of the monarchy, two hundred years
before the Christian era, a system of government was inaugurated which
has proceeded, so far as essentials are concerned, upon almost uniform
lines down to the present day.

It is an ancient and well-recognized principle in China, that every
inch of soil belongs to the sovereign; consequently, all land is held on
consideration of a land-tax payable to the emperor, and so long as this
tax is forthcoming, the land in question is practically freehold, and
can be passed by sale from hand to hand for a small conveyancing fee to
the local authorities who stamp the deeds. Thus, the foreign concessions
or settlements in China were not sold or parted with in any way by the
Chinese; they were "leased in perpetuity" so long as the ground-rent
is paid, and remain for all municipal and such purposes under the
uncontrolled administration of the nation which leased them. The
land-tax may be regarded as the backbone of Chinese finance; but
although nominally collected at a fixed rate, it is subject to
fluctuations due to bad harvests and like visitations, in which cases
the tax is accepted at a lower rate, in fact at any rate the people can
afford to pay.

The salt and other monopolies, together with the customs, also
contribute an important part of China's revenue. There is the old native
customs service, with its stations and barriers all over the empire, and
the foreign customs service, as established at the treaty ports only, in
order to deal with shipments on foreign vessels trading with China. The
traditional and well-marked lines of taxation are freely accepted by the
people; any attempt, however, to increase the amounts to be levied,
or to introduce new charges of any kind,